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J. W. MGORE. HOUSE DOOR LETTER BOXi No.487,63s. l Patented Deo.6,1892.

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UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN W. MOORE, OFWASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

vHOUSE-DOOR LETTER-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part ofl Letters Patent No. 487,633, dated December 6, 1892.

Application led June 20, 1892.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN W. MOORE, of Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain vnew and useful Improvements in Letter-Boxes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it pertains to make and use it, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in letter-boxes; and it-*consists in the construction and arrangement of parts, whchwill be, fully described hereinafter, and particularly referred to in the claims.

The object of my invention is to provide a letter-box for the doors of oflices, residences, and other places Where it is desired to have mail collected, and which isA constructed to carry a signal that can be set when mail is to be collected', so that the carrier or collector will see that the box contains mail to be collected, and, also, so constructed that when the box is opened to collect the outgoing mail the signal which was set will automatically disappear, there being, also, an Opening for the deposit of incoming mail.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a frontview of a portion of a door With my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the dotted linea' of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the dotted line y y of Fig. l.

A indicates a portion of a door opening into a residence or office, to which a casting B is applied. This casting has an opening for a door C, and above this another opening or slot D, through which the signal is exhibited, as will appear presently.

Made in the doorA is a horizontal recess E, in which is placed a signal-plate F. This signal-plate F has its right-hand end painted or otherwise colored red, as indicated, and its left-hand end left white or colored white, as is also indicated.

Placed in the opening D, above the door C, will be glass, covering and protecting the signal-plate, which latter will be made of wood or metal, as desired.

Communicating with the right-hand end of serial No. 437,310. (No model.)

the recess E is a small recess containing a spring G, which has its outer end connected to the door, while its inner and opposite end is connected with the adjacent end of the said signal-plate. This spring contracts and normally holds the signal-plate in the position shown in Fig. l-that is, with the white under the opening D.

Connected with the upper end of the door C is a spring L of any suitable material, which spring has its upper end extending slightly above the upper end of the door and entering a slot or recess K, made in the lower edge of the signal-plate. By means of this construction it will be seen that as the slot K is about the center of the red portion, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. l, the said spring rests against the inner face of the signal-plate and out of engagement with the notch K. When, however, the said signal-plate is drawn over to the left against the tension of the spring to exhibit the red under the opening D, the spring L will spring into the recess K, and thus lock the signal-plate in this set position. The said signal-plate is drawn in this position by means of a knob or handle M, which is attached to a pin h, extending through the slot R, made through the door inside of the signal-plate and extending to the inner side ot the door.

The door Cis provided with a suitable lock a, of which the carrier has a key.

When it is desired to sendY a letter, it is dropped into the box N through the opening d, and then the signal-plate is drawn to the left by means of the knob M until the spring L enters the recess K, thus locking the signalplate in -this position, with the red signal exposed through the opening D. This indicates to the carrier or collector that there is mail in the box. As soon as the door C is opened by the carrier to extract the mail the spring L is swung inward and out of the notch K of the signal-plate, which releases the plate and it is drawn back to its normal position by means ot the spring G. From this it will be seen that the tripping of the signal-plate is automatic, so that when the mail is taken the plate is thrown so that the signal is no longer exhibited, thus avoiding the possibility of leaving the signal exhibited to mislead a car- IOO rier or collector, as would likely be the case if the signal-plate had to be operated by hand when the mail was removed. The spring G may be of coiled Wire, as here shown, or of rubber, as desired.

The door A is provided with a slot Q, through which the mail from the box passes out the door O, and the bottom of the box is inclined, so that the mail contained therein will slide out when the said door is opened. I here show a second slot made in an extension H of the frame B, and which extensionopening is closed by a gravity-door I, hinged to a projecting ange J and having its lower edge resting against the plate H, as indicated in Fig. 3. Through this opening the incoming mail is deposited by pushing the door inward, when it will fall by gravity to a closed position. The boXN is made large enough to include both openings and is provided with a Vertical partition P to divide the tWo apartments, so that matter in one will not mix with mail-matter in the other.

From the above description it will be seen 'that I have produced a very simple contrivance for exhibiting a signal to a carrier or collector when there is mail to be collected,

' and which is automatically tripped when the I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A door having a recess or opening,a signal-plate adapted to slide therein and having a shoulder, a means for holding the said plate normally in one position, an opening out in the door adjacent to the signal-plate recess, a door moving therein and carrying a projection, which engages the said signal-plate when the door is closed, and an operating-handle for the slide, substantially as described.

2. A letter-box comprising a door, a signalplate recess or opening above the door and extending transverse thereof and having a locking-shoulder, a signal-plate sliding end- Wise therein, and the door having a projection at its upper end, which engages the signal-plate shoulder when the door is closed and the plate set, substantially as specified.

3. A letter-box having a door, a recess extending transverse the door at one end thereof and having an exposed opening F, a signalplate sliding in said recess and extending beyond each side of the box, a spring for holding the plate normally in one position, an operating-handle connected with one projecting end of the signal-plate, and locking-shoulders upon the door and plate, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signaturein presence of two witnesses.

JOHN W. MOORE.

Witnesses:

W. W. ARMSTRONG, B. F. SIMPSON. 

